[jimfree]

Those "no bid" contracts were awarded to Halliburton under the Clinton Administration.

And not all of the contracts have been "no-bid" actually. It's more like they were on retainer based on earlier competition. You can't go through the rigors of competition when an emergency hits. And you sure can't disclose war plans in your RFP (request for proposals) or IFB (invitation for bids) published well in advance of D-Day. So you compete and set up your providers as contingency for future events that might never happen.

[kcvl]

MORE April Fool, Bush style

Insurance, security prove costly for contractors in Iraq

Is anyone really surprised by this?

Well - yes.

For some contractors who work for the Defense Department, 40 cents out of every dollar spent goes for required insurance for workers, said Bunny Greenhouse, the chief contracting official for the Army Corps of Engineers. At least a dime to 15 cents of every dollar spent is for security, according to the inspector general for the Coalition Provisional Authority.

"Why are we paying 40 percent?" for insurance, Greenhouse asked in an interview Wednesday with Knight Ridder. "That's unbelievable. ... Nobody foresaw that we were going to be in this kind of dilemma." The civilian officials in the Pentagon who planned the war foresaw a quick end to Iraqi resistance and a rapid reconstruction of the country.